Gunning The Sunset
by TarTarIcing
Summary: After the death of his father, Ignacio is indecision. Fortunately for him, Arcade comes.


Gunning The Sunset

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Fallout New Vegas.<p>

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><p>It was fortuitous that Arcade visited HELIOS One. Ignacio Rivas recently went through a fiasco that left his father dead. There wasn't a need for forensic evidence to prove it, he was shot too many times. Fantastic's fatuous attitude wasn't helping. Ignacio sat on his bed thinking about how the Talon Company didn't have it as well as the Enclave remants. How was he going to manage them now?<p>

Arcade popped through the door, and the sight of his face made him slightly less frustrated. Thinking about words became barely feasible, but he carried on a basic greeting of "Hello.".

"Julie told me you had it rough. I'm sorry to hear about your father," Arcade replied, sitting down next to him, "I heard you might take leadership in the Talons."

"Thank you," Ignacio said, barely above a whisper, "It's opening a Pandora's Box for me... Everything's a mess. It's my family I'm dealing with, though." He cradled his head in his hands.

"I'm sure you'll do well. You're quite formidable from what I remember." An attempt to compliment him.

"That makes me a Talon more than I want to be." The Latino sighed, "I don't want to have my father's foible: His fractious temper. I seriously want the Talons to be less about killing and more about security."

"Good thinking. You already have his gun fetish. You don't want to filch caps from the NCR either."

"My father was a good man, Talon or not. I'm a Talon like him and it's now my responsibility. I will festoon his grave not with flowers but with honor."

"Talk about your will never fluctuating. I can see him in you."

"Everyone says that. How about we go shooting? Every bullet is on me since I don't feel frugal today."

"That's the spirit."

Ignacio dragged out a NCR table from one of the tents. Both were now outside with guns in hand. He happened to also have empty alcohol bottles set on the table. The table sat about twenty feet away.

"So, who's first?" Arcade was the first to talk.

"You're the guest. Why don't you go first?" Ignacio was courteous as always.

"Good enough." Arcade pulled out his laser pistol.

"Typical." The other eyed the gun. Arcade tried his best to aim down the sights, but he missed ever so slightly that corner bottle. He cursed under his breath, and proceeded to crack the bottle next to his intended target.

"I can't. Guns aren't my forte. You go now." Disappoint was spelled out in his face.

"NO." Ignacio suddenly raised his voice, "You still go... _And that's how the Talons do it_." Arcade glanced in fear as he picked up his laser pistol. Hands shaking, he aimed it at the center bottle. The laser whizzed by it, making it wobble, but not enough to knock down the others.

"I'm sorry, Ignacio."

"Let me help you," the other man steadied his arms, holding him close, "You holding it too close to your body," He pulled away, "Stop shaking. Hold it _especially _after you fire. Now you're good." Arcade couldn't believe what was happening. His friend of many years now sounded like wasteland warrior. Ironic that he felt warm to the touch... Or was it he that was warm? In surprise, he shot the center bottle right at the neck. Glass burst everywhere on the table.

"I... Did it," Arcade commented that he actually hit something.

"You did," A smile crept up Ignacio's lips. It still was... Pleasant. It was his confidence that felt so nostalgic, a hark back to childhood days of playful roughness. "Now finish them off!"

"I will..." He still has no words. Anytime he struggled with holding his weapon, Ignacio was there to steady him. There was no signs of grief from him. It was strange to see him like this, especially after some devastating fiasco. At least he didn't take note from Fantastic. Almost an hour passed when Arcade saw all the bottles burst and cracked. The shards shone on the ground. So did his glasses.

"Nice job. It's my turn now," Ignacio held a .44 Magnum Revolver up in the air while he had a fist on his hips.

"Don't you have your other gun?"

"That little pea shooter? No way!" He spun his gun around his index finger, "My dad wouldn't be caught dead using those and neither will I!" He began to gather more empty alcohol bottles then setting them on the table. No bother for cleaning up the shards. Ignacio strutted away to his friend's side.

There, he held his arm perfectly still. He held the revolver at perfect distance, and peeked down the sights before taking the first shot. Boom. Center bottle. Boom. Left corner bottle. Boom. Right corner bottle. Boom. Last left bottle. Boom. Last right bottle.

He blew on the barrel as it shone by the sun. In seconds, he had shot all five bottles down. Flicking out the chamber, he checked the amount of ammo he had: Five bullets gone and one left. Perfect math. Perfect usage.

"That's amazing," Arcade gasped in awe at efficiency, "Your father would be proud, wouldn't he?"

"I'm sure he would be. You're not bad yourself," Ignacio reloaded, "Now let's get shooting."

After multiple shards of multiple bottles were swept off the table, both men sat down together. The table was moved back into the NCR tent, and every gun was reloaded and cleaned. The sky was a golden orange with some underlying pink as the sun set.

"A sunset with a solar tower, never thought I see them together," Arcade commented.

"It's a damn beautiful sight," Ignacio clicked open the cap of the Rum and Nuka, "It truly shows the true beauty of the sun." He took a sip.

"You know, you're one of the strongest people I've met. I've never seen you cry, give up, or become desperate. The fact you stand alone here justifies it," Arcade took a sip of his Rum and Nuka.

"No, you're the stronger one here," Ignacio took another sip, "I've been violent, angry, hateful, arrogant, and just plain psychopathic. I hurt Usanagi when I was younger, I've held guns, I've cheated people. You've done nothing of the sort. You might be sarcastic and caustic, but you still have good moral standards. I'm just a hurtful human being." A tear slid from his eye.

"Ignacio-"

"I'm the furthest Follower away from you and Julie. I fought with everybody: _You_, Julie, Tom... I was too cathartic. Even Usanagi's closer to the hub than me. My father thought I wouldn't be like him. _I_ thought I wouldn't be like him. Everyone saw me mellow out, but here I am, using guns, drinking alcohol..." He began to choke up.

"That's not a bad thing. You have his good qualities. You're a strong man at heart," Arcade slung his free arm over Ignacio's shoulder.

"That's not the problem," The Latino fumbled with his words, "I might be a Follower, but I'm a Talon. I'm a Talon _at heart_. I don't want to be one, but I have to be. They're worse than the Enclave... They killed everything without a reason. It was all in the name of money back in the Capital Wasteland. I've _killed _people, Arcade, and I don't even want to." He downed the rest of his Rum and Nuka, then covered his mouth. Soon muffled cries came.

Arcade wordlessly watched. Again, he was in awe, seeing a clement man break down.

"I've become my father. It really hurt when I told him I was gay," He reached for another bottle of Rum and Nuka, "He didn't care. No word of approval or of hatred, just a '_It's better to be that here rather in Mexico_.'. Here I am, doing the same thing to Peter*. All I do is work and kill now. I wish my father was here..." He cried out after taking a large gulp of the drink. Unfortunately, he didn't find it strong and reached for the vodka, untwisting the cap, and taking a swig.

"That isn't healthy! Give it to me!" Arcade grabbed the bottle. Something was very wrong.

"No," Ignacio blubbered as he held the bottle back and took a rather large swig of vodka.

"Ignacio," He confiscated the bottle and drank it himself, subconsciously, "Get a hold of yourself... Think of people who would miss you. Think of _me_." The other man took it back, chugged the rest of the vodka down, and slammed the empty bottle on the ground. He held the neck towards Arcade's face, broken end facing him.

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><p>Silence settled between the two men. A lifetime passed...<p>

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><p>"<em>I need you<em>," Ignacio blurted out as he clutched Arcade tightly, throwing the broken bottle behind him.

"I loved you," Arcade whispered in reply, "_I still do_." He gave a slow kiss on the forehead.

"So do I," Ignacio reciprocated, giving one on the cheek, "_I love you, too_."

"You're not alone. I'll be always here..." A kiss on the lips. They kissed with comfort, need, warmth, and _love_; all bathed in the sunset of the Mojave.

"Thank you."

"No, _thank you_." Both looked onward at the sunset. Holding hands, they knew the sun will always come out again.

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><p>AN: Ha, Ha... dA repost.


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